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 Replies: 21 / Views: 2,321 |
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New Member
United States
6 Posts |
New member here looking for some insight on a coin that came into my possession from a relative that has recently passed away. It is an 1899 Gold $5 Half Eagle. I would greatly appreciate a sense of the grade of this coin as well as valuation of current retail and wholesale (if I were to sell to a dealer) pricing. If my pictures are not good enough please let me know and I will try to do better. Thank you very much for your help and all the great information on this site. Regards,   Edited by Gempy
07/05/2016 4:53 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
Nice clean coin. Tell us about the luster, if you would. Is it strong and swirling as you rotate the coin back and forth, or more subdued? Let us know.  to the CCF! |
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New Member
 United States
6 Posts |
Hi Coinfrog, Thank you for the fast reply! Excuse me if this sounds dumb as I am not familiar with the what to look for but when holding the coin under a halogen lamp and moving it around the field of the coin appears non reflective but the highlights of the image are highly reflective. Does that answer your question? I attached another photo with a 3/4 view. Perhaps this view shows the highlighting that I am talking about. Also, in this view I now see what might be a dent at the 4 O-Clock position that I did not notice with my naked eye. I did a little reading on 'luster' and rotated the coin under a bright lamp and do see a cartwheel effect. The highlight band of the cartwheel is not remarkably brighter than the other part. I would say it is subtle. Not sure if that is good, bad, or indifferent. Look forward to hearing back from all of you on that. Thanks again!  Edited by Gempy
07/05/2016 5:16 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10982 Posts |
This one appears close enough to a gem (Mint State 65) that it justifies professional grading. From the images it looks like a MS64 with a roughly $650/$775 wholesale/retail. As an MS65 it jumps to $2000/$2500 but it doesn't look quite that good. You never know unless you try it! Good luck. |
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New Member
United States
6 Posts |
Thanks BH1964!
Is it possible to be considered mint with the dent on the edge about 4 o'clock?
Is there a place to get a single coin appraised? I researched a couple of well known companies for appraisal but they seem to have a minimum of at least five coins each.
Thanks!
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10982 Posts |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
The important thing is - only hold it by it's outer rim and do not touch the surfaces! Try to take it to one of the dealers that BH1964 references above and get their opinion on whether to submit for grading. It's a beauty - keep us informed!  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4471 Posts |
A couple things for you do not clean or wipe the coin surface as the coin value will decrease from cleaning. It would be best to store the coin in a 2 x 2 coin flip and hold the coin by the edge and do not touch the coin surface with your fingers. The hit on the rim/edge in my opinion should not impact the grading on the coin.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6396 Posts |
The 1899 is one of the most common Liberty Half Eagles and makes a nice type coin. This example looks mint state or possibly slightly circulated with a touch of friction in the fields. Luster is present but doesn't appear very strong in these images. I see the slight edge issue at 4:00 on the obverse but that doesn't appear serious enough to hurt the grade. There are scattered small hits that combined with so-so luster should keep it out of gem contention IMO. It could grade anywhere from AU-58 to MS-64; I'd vote for MS-63. Retail price if you wanted to buy a coin like this might be $550 to $600. A dealer would pay less, perhaps much less if they assert the coin is not mint state. Certification with shipping will cost around $30-$55 depending on the service you choose. If the coin grades AU to MS-62 I don't think you will recover your certification cost upon sale. If it comes back MS-63 or better the certification cost will likely turn out to be a good investment. Thanks for sharing! |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6370 Posts |
I'm going to say AU-58, and a very choice one at that. A TPG might call it an MS-62/63. |
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New Member
United States
6 Posts |
A big thank you to everyone that replied.
This is really helpful information and all of you wrote with incredible clarity that even someone like me who has only just started to learn can understand.
I promise to follow up with what I learn after taking it to a dealer. I am in New York City and I have heard less that favorable thing about dealers in general here. But I will stick to the list and check reviews of the same and let you all know how it goes.
Thanks again!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3546 Posts |
Gempy, welcome to CCF.
Just as an observation you've done a real decent job on your photos: more than good enough to show adequate detail to be able to convey its traits to the potential MS crowd.
Also, it looks authentic and as a rule to follow I personally 'always' weigh any and all gold coins acquired just for the record.
IMO,
mdpmedia
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
18714 Posts |
Appears to have light circulation attested to by rub areas in hair, around Liberty and the letter "L" as well as the hair around the profile. I'm at AU58
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
Certainly no less. Still think a visit to a professional at a LCS would be a good idea.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4337 Posts |
Condolences on your loss. If you're dead set on selling and getting the few hundred the coin is worth you should head to Westchester and if you take the henry hudson north into Elmsford after it connects to the Sawmill you'll find Great American Coins. I dealt with them for several years prior to moving from the area. You can book an appointment with them and from midtown its about 30 minutes by car. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
8137 Posts |
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Replies: 21 / Views: 2,321 |
Posted 07/05/2016 5:04 pm
